Mr and Mrs Hat Trick
by ladywentworth
Summary: A collection of drabbles/one-shots that would take up too much space posted on their own. All Makorra, all genres, most of them AUs I come up with. Rated T for mild sexual themes and language in some.
1. Bounty Hunter AU

**All recognizable characters and allusions belong to Nickelodeon and the creators of The Legend of Korra.**

* * *

One-Eyed Sangok's is a dingy eyesore in the middle of nowhere. The dark sky does nothing to mask its appearance, the dark shadows unforgiving and sinister on the dirty outside walls and the sign flickering, several letters missing, out for good. There's no formal parking lot, just a makeshift line of cars and motorcycles in front and on the sides of the building. The inside is dimly lit, admitting no view from curious eyes outside, but is loud with music and noise. No one with a good bone in their body would go into One-Eyed Sangok's, not unless they were looking for trouble.

A figure in black zooms a long stretch of empty road on a quiet, purring motorcycle, head obscured by a black helmet that glints with the light of the low, yellow moon at their back. The motorcycle purrs as its rider twists the throttle, shooting forward faster and leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.

Inside Sangok's, a bartender with an oily black coif of hair spreads his lips into a thin smile as he luxuriously appraises his newest customer.

"What can I get for you, sweetheart?"

The motorcycle rider spots the flickering sign of One-Eyed Sangok's in the distance and crouches low on their motorcycle, black-gloved hands tight on the bars.

The newest patron at One-Eyed Sangok's watches the sleazy bartender with blank, bored eyes. "A shot of liquor. Your choice, pretty boy."

The bartender scratches his chin and looks over his shoulder at the shelves of liquor, all reflecting different shades of the blue light that spotlights them. He turns and picks a golden liquor off the shelf. Behind the shelves is a large and grimy mirror. The bartender eyes the patron with sharp eyes, following the curve of her arms and her waist. He's not alone. Curious, hungry eyes are sweeping over the patron's figure.

"What's a gal like you doing in a place like this?" he asks, his voice low and clear despite the noise of the music blaring from the speakers.

The patron plays with a coaster, a silver bracelet twinkling on her wrist, her eyes focused on the mirror. "I'm waiting for someone."

The bartender turns with the bottle of liquor and a clear glass and sets it in front of her. "Someone special?"

"Something like that."

The noise inside Sangok's is loud, so the sound of a motorcycle coming to a stop on the side of the building is easily drowned out. The rider steps over their bike and dusts off some dust off their black jacket. A stray patron leaving Sangok's walks right past them, mistaking them as part of the shadows. The rider walks with a sure step towards the entrance, moving with fluid, almost predatory grace.

When the rider walks in, no one takes notice. The rider is still wearing their helmet, their head moving left and right. They're looking for someone.

The rider takes off their helmet. Their hair is flattened by helmet wear, but the rider is still handsome. His face has sharp, chiseled lines and honey-colored eyes that smolder in the dim light. A woman serving drinks at a table notices him and appraises him with a slow elevator gaze that travels up from his boot-clad feet to the hard line of his mouth. A man that handsome hasn't come into Sangok's in a long time.

The rider walks to the bar, orders a neat whiskey, and sits at the end of the bar. The other patrons in Sangok's leave him alone. His kind are the type who cause trouble when talked to.

An increasing ruckus is going on at another corner of Sangok's. The rider sips his drink, scanning the bar through the grimy mirror behind the liquor shelves.

The brightest corner in One-Eyed Sangok's reveals a pool table, the green felt worn in some areas and the balls dirty with use. Several of the patrons are crowded there, seemingly transfixed on the current game. A young woman is bent over the table, expertly holding the pool stick in her arms, a silver bracelet glinting in the overhead light on her wrist.

The thoughts that go through the men around her range in degrees of appraisal.

The rider notices the crowd in the mirror, but thinks nothing of it. There's someone he's looking for.

The young woman at the pool table wins the game. Her blank eyes don't exactly display amusement. She looks bored.

"Well, babe, you play well," says her opponent.

The woman smirks. "Yes, I guess I do."

The rider finishes his drink. A hard frown dominates his expression. The bartenders avoid coming near him. He looks angry.

Another game of pool starts. The woman sweeps her wavy brown hair over one shoulder and makes her move.

The rider notices the crowd in the corner again. He gets out of his stool and wanders over, wedging between two burly men covered in tattoos and leather. His eyes go wide at the sight of the young woman and he mutters something under his breath, something like a name or a curse.

The young woman notices the rider out of the corner of her eye and a genuine grin fights its way on her expression. She plays the game with more fervor and wins in another three turns.

When she wins the game, she hands the pool stick to one of the burly men standing on the side of the rider and she brushes past him towards the entrance of Sangok's. The rider follows after her.

The night is dark. The line of cars around Sangok's is almost indiscernible in the darkness. The rider follows the young woman to a sleek silver car, newer than all the others.

"Korra," he says, voice strained.

She stops at the trunk of the silver car. "You're late, city boy."

"You shouldn't be here."

Korra opens the trunk of the car. The rider peers into the trunk, arms crossed.

"You doing alright in there, sweetheart?" she asks the man who is tied up in her trunk. The light in the trunk shines in the man's oily black hair.

The bartender grumbles incoherently through the gag fashioned around his head.

"You have a habit of interfering in my work," the rider says.

Korra raises her hand and flattens it against his chest. "It's the only way I see you anymore, Mako."

Mako, the rider, softens his expression. Korra's eyes are bright despite the darkness. "I'm only around for the night."

Korra slams the trunk against the protests of the tied up bartender, a sad smile on her face. "Well, let's not spend any more time wasting it."

"Where are you staying?" he asks, voice low.

She looks for his eyes in the darkness and feels them on her. "Not far."

He follows her car to the motel she's checked in at. They waste no time in talking, flesh against flesh on the faded printed quilt of the bed. They push and pull slowly, touch tenderly, savor each other. They only have nights like this, when she goes where's he's needed. She gets his targets for him, and doesn't claim any of the bounty. She never asks where he goes, only follows, beats him to it when she can. He can't stay in one place too long—he can't make her promises. He's afraid to.

"Where have you been?" she asks.

"Everywhere," he answers, the same answer he always gives her. They lay in bed together, both with their thoughts on different things—he, wondering how soon he can leave; and she, wondering how long he'll stay this time. "Where have you been?"

She shakes her head. "It doesn't matter."

This answer surprises him. She looks away. "What does that mean?"

Korra is unable to meet his eyes as she speaks next. "I—Mako…there's someone else."

Mako's chest tightens, a new feeling to him. "Someone else?"

She answers quietly, trying to mask the pain in her voice. "I met him a few months ago. I only went looking for that bartender to come and say goodbye to you."

"Goodbye," Mako echoes, his eyes tightening and his mouth curling into a frown.

Korra sits up on the bed and hangs her feet off the edge.

"Where have you been, Korra?" he asks in a strained voice, sitting up with her.

She looks over her shoulder. "I've been in one place."

"Do you love him?"

The question sounds accusing. She looks away and bends down to pick up her blouse. "I think I could love him, if I tried."

Mako stares at his hands, fisted over the bed covers. Her back is to him. He thinks about the long scar across her ribcage, the story he was never interested in hearing, and wishes he had asked.

They both dress in silence. The orange glow from the streetlamps filters in from the windows, casting slivers of light on their figures. They dress with precarious finality. Mako finishes first. He waits for her—another first. Korra takes her time, her back to him.

The silence becomes heavy when they move to stand before each other at the door. The sound of a car passing by fills the emptiness of sound between them. The room is too dark for them to see each other's face—but neither of them wants to see what lies on their expressions.

"I'm going to miss beating you to the crooks," she says, the familiar cocky edge to her voice weak.

He tries to smile. "I beat you a few times."

Silence engulfs them. Mako wants to ignore the strange, tight feeling in his chest and leave, but he stands rooted on the spot. He strains to make out the outline of her cheeks, her lips, her eyelashes.

"I wish you the best," she murmurs, reaching out to place her hand over his chest. She nearly spots a frown on his face, his jaw tight. "Mako."

His name is like a sigh. He takes her face in his hands and bends down to wedge their lips together one last time. Their foreheads rest against each other and they breathe the same air for a moment before she pulls away.

She presses something into his hand—a set of keys. "The car's a rental. It's due at ten in the morning."

He wants to say something, but the words catch at his throat, and only nods in response. He moves toward the door and twists the doorknob, vaguely registering the creaking of the hinges and the dry air outside. She watches him with tear-glazed eyes, resolve weakening.

"I'll always love you, Korra," he says, looking over his shoulder.

She smiles, hugging her arms to her chest. "And I'll always love you, Mako."

The door shuts behind him. The walk to the silver car is a long one. He grips the keys in his hand and does not look back.

She sits down on the bed, on his side, and plays with the bracelet on her wrist, the only gift he ever gave her. A sliver of orange light glints on the two charms that hang from the silver chain—a sun and a moon.

* * *

**A/N:** I really liked the idea of Mako and a broody bounty hunter and Korra as just a badass who beats him to it and this is what came out of it. The ending could have gone better, but eh, c'est la vie and I'm too lazy to write a new ending.

For the readers of my drabble ficlet, _The Day It Began_: I haven't forgotten about it, I swear! I've had the next part finished and sitting on my computer but I'm waiting to have more of the drabbles finished before I post anymore. I'll be done soon, I promise!


	2. The Mummy Crossover

**All recognizable characters and allusions belong to Nickelodeon and the creators of The Legend of Korra.**

**Whoever owns the rights to The Mummy is cited here so I don't get in trouble for using their material.**

* * *

"Bo, what are we doing in this prison?" Mako asked, cringing at the dirty, open floors and strong stench coming from somewhere in the building.

Bolin patted his coat pocket. "Remember that star thing I showed you yesterday? I found out who it belonged to. The guy I won it off of got it from someone who's in here."

The building was circular in shape and was open to the air in the center. Cells lined the walls, four stories high and piled with inmates. Mako had never seen the inside of a prison before, but he knew that this one was one of the worst. In the middle of the open circle were the large and haunting gallows. He averted his eyes and kept close to Bolin as a tall, thin man with a thin mustache approached them.

"Oh, you again," said the man, crossing his arms. "What do you want in my prison?"

"We're here to see someone. The American pilot."

The man laughed. "What for? That prisoner is my least interesting of all."

Mako glanced at Bolin as Bolin frowned and dug into his trouser pocket and pulled out a 10-pound note. "Just a few minutes."

The man plucked the money out of Bolin's hands and perused it with his eyes before stuffing it into his shirt. "Suit yourselves. This way."

The inmates made a ruckus at the sight of them as they walked across the clearing. Mako kept his eyes forward—he wanted as little to do with this place as possible. He thought about the half-burned map in his office and translated the hieroglyphics again in his head.

The man stopped them before an empty cell and told them to wait while he retrieved the prisoner. Mako stepped closer to Bolin. "Are you sure this is a good idea? If it's even going to work?"

Bolin crossed his arms. "You got any better ideas? The map's ruined and Toza said he wouldn't help us."

Mako grumbled something incoherent and looked down at his feet. He was able to drown out the ruckus until a couple of minutes later the sound of high-pitched grunting caught his attention and he looked up.

"I thought we would find the American pilot here," Bolin said, looking at the prisoner with as much shock as Mako was.

The prison warden nodded at the two guards that were pulling forward a very reluctant-looking woman with a dirty face and scraggly clothes. She was growling and struggling against their grip. The manacles on her wrists looked too thick to be comfortable.

"This is the American pilot," the man said, stepping out of the empty cell and going to stand beside them. Mako noted that the man smelled almost as bad as the rest of the prison.

"What'd she do?" Mako asked, looking at the woman curiously. She was on the shorter side in stature and looked small.

"I'm guilty of being a woman," the woman snapped in a clear American accent. She managed to kick one of her guards in the shin and knocked him to the ground. The other guard hit her with his baton hard and pushed her against the bars. She grunted again and gave them a mocking smile. "Isn't that right, dear Varrick?"

Varrick, the man, scoffed. "She's been trouble around here. Having too much of a good time, eh?"

Bolin was stepping closer to the cell to inspect the woman. "You're a pilot? You're the first I've ever heard of."

The woman spit on the ground. "Yeah, yeah. Whatcha want? You here to spring me? Or take more from me?"

"We want to talk with you," Bolin answered, looking disgusted.

"Oh, excellent. I love talking. It really helps me pass the time," the woman grumbled. Then, in a move so fast Mako hardly caught it, she pulled her fist back and landed a punch square on Bolin's face.

Bolin yelped and fell on the floor and clutched at his face. Mako's first instinct was to help him, but Varrick was already helping him up and Mako needed the information about getting to Hamunaptra. Mako cautiously stepped closer to the cell.

"Listen, we really want to talk to you about some of the places you've been," Mako said, grateful that the prison warden was out of hearing reach. "Can you tell us?"

The woman looked up at him with bright and remarkably clear aqua blue eyes. "I've been to lots of places, pretty boy. You're gonna have to be more specific."

Mako leaned in closer and dropped his voice to barely above a whisper. "We want to know about Hamunaptra."

The woman rolled her eyes. "You've gotta be kidding me. This is about that crappy artifact, isn't it?"

"You know what it does?" Mako asked with excitement creeping into his voice.

"No, I don't." She pressed closer to the bars. "And you don't want to go to Hamunaptra."

"So you do know where it is?" he asked, grabbing onto the bars and leaning in closer.

The woman smirked. "Yeah. I know where it is. I've been there."

"You have?" Mako asked, feeling giddy with curiosity. "How do we get there? Can you tell me?"

"Sure, I can tell you," she said, shrugging. "Lean in closer so no one can hear."

Mako eagerly obliged, his face inches from hers. She smelled like rotting hay and sweat. He should have known it was a trap the moment a sly smile spread across her face. Her hands reached through the bars, and in a surprisingly strong grip, grabbed his face and smashed her lips against his in a rough kiss.

"What the—" Mako exclaimed, scrambling back.

"If you wanna know," the woman said with a laugh as the two guards pulled her back from the cell, "Get me out of here!"

Mako wiped at his mouth and looked for the prison warden—he was coming back. "Where are they taking her? I wasn't done talking with her!"

Varrick laughed and clapped a heavy hand on his back. "Sorry. There's no more time with her. She's being hung right now. Apparently she's been having a very good time around here."

-M.M-

The next day Mako and Bolin were walking across the Giza Port, Mako mildly struggling with his bags. He had packed only the essentials but still felt that he could have used two more of his Egyptology books but he hadn't been able to make space for them. The port was busy and the day was already getting as hot as the others. He managed to tilt his hat forward more to shade his eyes and looked at Bolin beside him.

"Are you sure she's going show?" Mako grumbled.

"She said she would. The boat doesn't leave for another twenty minutes."

It had taken a hard bargain to get the woman free—Mako had almost been too late because Varrick had already let one of the guards release her on the gallows and she had probably been minutes away from dying. When Varrick wouldn't relent to even the bribe of 500 pounds, Mako had resorted to offering a small percentage of whatever they found at Hamunaptra and Varrick had haggled it until they agreed on 25% of whatever they found. Bolin had worked out the arrangements of the woman meeting them for today but Mako wasn't sure if she would show at all—she was wild and unpredictable.

"I don't know if we can trust her," Mako said. "She probably did a lot of damage to get thrown into that kind of jail. Did you see her? She was dirty, smelly, and as bad-mannered as you can get."

As much as he had been predisposed to dislike her, he hadn't been able to get the kiss she gave him out of his mind. Her lips had been shockingly soft and warm. No one had ever kissed him like that.

"Didn't know you cared so much about what I'm like," said a voice behind them.

Mako and Bolin turned to see the woman from the prison—only she looked completely different. Mako was taken aback by how…beautiful she was. A bath had removed all the dirt and bad smell and a brush had smoothed her wild hair into a glossy ponytail. Her scraggly clothes were replaced by a white high-necked shirt and a beige jacket and form-fitting trousers. "Erm, what?"

Bolin subtly nudged him and stuck his hand out to her. "Good to see you, Colonel Sennaq."

"Colonel?" Mako asked with, again, surprise.

Colonel Sennaq shook Bolin's hand while giving Mako a wry smile. "Yeah. Well, I was Colonel when I was in the American Army. I guess you two can call me Korra since we're gonna be stuck with each other for a few days. So. Are we going to that God-forsaken city or what? I'm dying to get as close to death as possible again."

"Yeah!" Bolin exclaimed, following after Korra as she pushed through people to get up on the boat.

Mako looked after her figure, which was imposing despite her head not even reaching the shoulders of most of the men around her, and shook his head. They were in for quite an expedition with her as their guide. "This girl is crazy," he muttered to himself, trying to ignore the piercing look in her eyes when she talked to him.

* * *

A/N: I thought it'd be funny to have Mako as a nerdy librarian and Korra as an thrill-seeking adventurer. And The Mummy is just a perfect movie-and perfect for Makorra! If I had better writing skills and dedication I would have loved to flesh this out more. I hope you guise like!


	3. Mapped Out--Road Trip AU

**All recognizable characters and allusions are property of Nickelodeon and the creators of The Legend of Korra.**

**Genre: Road Trip AU/Comedy**

**Summary: **Mako and Korra decide to make the drive from Austin to Long Beach to visit Korra's parents. This should be fun, right? Not. Not for Mako, at least.

* * *

"Mako, the highway is literally going straight to Flagstaff. Do you really need to check the map again?"

Mako had been stopping every hour to check the crappy map he'd bought at the gas station in Lubbock like he didn't have GPS on his cell phone and it was driving Korra crazy. They'd been on the road for almost a whole day and what was supposed to be a fun road trip to go visit her parents in California was quickly turning into a test on each other's patience.

"I just need to make sure that we won't run into another state road and veer off track, okay?" Mako muttered, scratching his chin as he stared at the stupidly large paper in front of him.

Korra huffed and crossed her arms before sitting back in her seat. "It was _one _time and it was _my _fault and I already said I was _sorry."_

He glanced sideways at her with a tight frown. "It took us four hours to get back on track. I just want to make sure."

"Whatever. I'm going to take a walk and stretch out my legs," Korra grumbled, throwing open the door and dangling her feet out of the car before stepping out into the hot, dry air of the New Mexico desert.

The asphalt of the highway was hot under her sandals and littered with stray pebbles. She kicked a few off to the side as she walked away from the car. In the distance behind them, a stray pair of headlights was making their way across the highway and the dim sound of the engine filled the quiet stillness around her. Her knees ached from sitting in one attitude for so long (she had to admit, Mako's irritating map-check breaks were good for her to stretch and walk around, but that was _it_) and when she raised her arms over her head to stretch out her arms her the kinks in her back rolled out pleasantly.

She was about a hundred feet from the car when she heard him call out her name.

"Korra, hey."

Korra turned and saw Mako coming toward her, his silhouette hardly more than a shadow in the increasing darkness. "You find our way, Captain Expedition?"

He came up to her and grabbed her hand. "I'm sorry if I'm being…anal about this."

She giggled and he huffed. Korra cleared her throat and shrugged. "I don't know why I'm so surprised. You're like this about everything. You're just being particularly bad right now."

"Korra, you're not being much better. You almost spent fifty dollars on junk at the last stop."

"You've been eating as much of the gummy worms as I have so don't you dare tell me that it wasn't a sensible idea." She let go of his hand and crossed her arms again. "Look, maybe we should stop for the night and recharge. We don't have to be there as quickly as possible, you know."

Mako sighed. "Yeah, I know. I'm not exactly too eager to have your dad 'friendly' punch me every opportunity he can get."

Korra laughed. "He only does it because he likes you."

"Yeah, right." He raised his hand and gently rubbed her shoulder. "You ready to keep moving? We're about to cross the border into Arizona and there's a hotel not too far from there."

She sighed and nodded. "Okay. You want me to drive?"

He didn't answer right away and she was about to make a snappy comment when he said, "Sure. I could use the rest."

They walked back to the car and Korra plopped into the driver's seat and fumbled for the levers that adjusted the seat.

"Ew, you left the seat all warm," she said, glancing at him with a wide smile.

"Just drive," Mako muttered, buckling his seatbelt and crossing his arms. "And _you _left the seat warm too."

Korra laughed. Mako was notoriously bad at making comebacks.

-M.O.-

The hotel was pricey for what little it offered—not even cable television!—but Korra was glad for the air conditioning and the promise of a hot shower. Mako was busying himself with securing their luggage in the trunk in the parking lot and Korra immediately jumped in the shower after plugging in her cell phone, which had been about to die when she took the wheel earlier. When she got out she found Mako sitting on the bed looking over his stupid map again.

"Not with the map again," she grumbled, plopping down on the bed beside him.

"I'm just—"

"Making sure, you've said it," she said, cutting him off. "Put that thing away. You're not looking at it again until we're back on the road."

Mako shook his head. "I have to plan which gas sta—hey! Give that back!"

Korra had plucked the map from his hands and was hastily folding it—she could almost see Mako's eye twitching at her lack of regard for folding it correctly—behind her, scooting back on the bed to keep it from him. "We're supposed to be having fun on this trip!"

"I _am_ having fun! Give me my map back!"

She laughed and scrambled onto her knees and held the map over her head. "You call planning every last minute detail of this trip fun?"

Mako swiped at her hands, his eyebrows creased together in frustration. Korra laughed harder and swiftly dodged him. Her eyes strayed a little when his t-shirt rode up and exposed a sliver of his stomach but she refocused when one of his hands grabbed her wrist and she quickly adjusted and held the map away from him with her free hand.

"Korra, enough! This isn't funny!" Mako exclaimed gruffly, pushing against her and knocking them back onto the bed. He landed on top of her with a grunt and Korra started to laugh but the laughter died in her throat.

"I'm not giving you the map," Korra breathed, suddenly caring little for teasing him about the map.

Mako's weight was pressing against her and his eyes were suddenly dark and looking at her intently. "Give me back the map or I won't get off of you."

Korra grinned. "What a threat."

"Korra—"

"Mak_o_," she returned in the same tone of voice, rolling her eyes. "Do you want the stupid map or do you want to take advantage of this hotel room and fool around?"

She had her answer when Mako didn't hesitate to press a hard kiss to her lips and the map was thrown somewhere in the room, completely forgotten for the moment. Korra immediately reached for his t-shirt and pulled it over his head, her eyes drinking in the smooth sinews of his hard muscles and her hands brushing against his skin to feel them. He tasted vaguely sweet (from all the gummy worms he'd been eating, probably) and his breath was warm and his tongue was soft against hers. His nimble fingers were making fast work of taking her t-shirt off and the clasp of her bra when he abruptly halted and pulled away from her with a wet smack of their lips.

"What? What's wrong?" Korra panted, watching him sit up on the bed and start to scoot off.

"Bathroom," Mako replied hastily, hightailing it to the bathroom and slamming the door shut.

Korra sat up and fixed her bra, huffing. She'd really been hoping that at least they couldn't mess up sex—they were really good at it. The thought went out the window, though, when she heard the sounds coming from the bathroom and she bit her hand to hold back a laugh. Well, that explained his hurry. She picked up the remote on the nightstand and turned on the outdated television to a local channel to drown out the noise—Mako was reserved and wouldn't want her to hear him.

A while later Mako still hadn't come out and Korra got up to go check on him.

"Mako? Are you alright in there?"

His answer came in the form of a muffled grunt and a groan. "I don't think so."

"Do you need toilet paper? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I think I ha…"His voice trailed off too lowly for her to hear.

"You what? I can't hear you."

"I think…have…ea."

"Mako, stop mumbling and spill it already."

"I said I think I have diarrhea!"

Korra let out a giggle before she could stop herself. "Diarrhea? Oh, Mako."

"Don't laugh at me! I don't know how this happened!" He groaned again.

Korra shook her head. "I'll tell you how it happened. Because you haven't wanted to take any potty breaks you haven't had anything to drink in almost twenty hours and you've been sitting in a hot car for all that time. You're dehydrated."

"Thank you for your diagnosis, Dr. Korra, but it was a rhetorical statement!" he called back.

"Hey, you're a guy who likes facts, and I'm giving them to you!" she replied, laughing. "You're gonna be in there all night. So much for rest and recharge, huh?"

"I don't want to talk to you right now. Go to sleep."

Korra rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I'll go get you some water. I'd tell you to stay put, but it's pretty obvious you're going to anyway."

Mako answering growl was comical. "I really hate you sometimes."

"I love you too, sweetie!" Korra called back, going back to the bed to put on her discarded clothes, shaking her head at the turn of events the road trip had brought them. Were road trips like this for other people?

-M.O.-

"Hey, Mako, you need to stop for a potty break?" Korra asked, her voice light and fighting back a laugh.

"Har har," Mako grumbled, turning in his seat away from her. Mako had spent half the night in the bathroom and would only come out to drink the Pedialyte she'd gone out to get for him. When Korra woke up, she'd found Mako asleep on the toilet, looking surprisingly cute. She hadn't teased him about that yet—she was waiting for the perfect opportunity. He hadn't protested at all when she took his car keys from him, but when she'd tried to throw away the map he'd snatched it and stuffed it in his backpack. He was currently holding his backpack to his chest like it was a pillow or a lifeline. Like he thought she was going to take his precious map and throw it out the window.

Korra chuckled. "I'm being serious, though. If you need me to stop—"

"Korra, please. Can we not talk about this anymore?"

His voice was pleading enough that she didn't bother him about it again. They drove in silence—their radio wasn't picking up any stations and Mako's car didn't have a connection to plug in their phones—for a long while, until Mako spoke again.

"Can I use your phone to text Bo? My battery's out."

Korra nodded and stuck her thumb out to point to the backseat. "It's in my bag. Is he gonna be able to come down from L.A. to visit?"

"I'm not sure. He says he's on set for 20 hours a day sometimes. I think we might have to go up to see him. You don't mind, do you?"

"Do I mind touring one of the largest cities in the world? Hell no. Maybe we'll run into an Elvis impersonator and I can finally live my dream of living a life of rock and roll. It'll be the good life for me from then on."

"You're crazy," Mako muttered, clicking away on her cell phone.

"You love it."

Mako grunted in response and Korra had her answer.

"You've been taking pictures of our whole trip?"

Korra's cheeks grew hot at the question and she focused her eyes on the stretch of black road ahead of her, vaguely registering the sign that read that Needles, their next stop, was about a hundred miles away. "Uh…yeah, why?"

"Is…Is this me asleep on the toilet?!"

"Err…"

"And…me putting gas in the tank? Three times?"

"Mako—"

"You took _ten_ pictures of me with my map?"

Korra slowly slid her eyes to look at him, expecting a scolding look on his face, and was shocked to see a smile instead. "You're…not mad?"

Mako laughed and the sound reverberated through the car and warmed her insides. She loved to hear him laugh. "No, I'm not mad. I'm actually…really sorry. I really haven't been having fun, huh?"

"Oh, no. You've been a riot. That's why I had to take so many pictures of you. To capture the very rare moments that Mako is actually having fun."

He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I love you."

Korra grinned and shrugged her shoulders. "You're alright too, I guess."

She heard the click of her phone's camera shutter go off and she glanced at him again. "What are you doing?"

"Capturing the very rare moment that my girlfriend doesn't have a snarky comeback for me."

"Are you sure you want to go there, Poopy Pants?"

Mako groaned. "And the moment is gone. I better check my map for the next gas stop."

"Mako, if you take that thing out—"

The map materialized in Mako's hands, and to Korra's increasing surprise, Mako opened the window and threw it out. "Better?"

"Well, there goes what we could have used for toilet paper in case we had to stop for you again."

Mako groaned again and Korra laughed before reaching over and grabbing his hand. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I'll stop with the poop jokes. But on one condition."

"And what's that?" he asked, voice wary.

"Well, you sort of owe me for leaving me hanging last night. You want to make this road trip _really _memorable?"

"I don't like where this is going."

"You know _exactly_ where this is going."

"Fine, pull over. This should be fun…if no cops show up." He paused and pouted. "I miss my map."

Korra brought the car to a stop and turned to face him. "I'll make you forget about the stupid map."

**~*FIN*~**

* * *

A/N: This was hilarious when I was writing it, so I hope I at least made you chuckle. ^_^ Originally I'd planned on having Korra find an engagement ring in Mako's backpack to go the SUPER fluffy route...but I decided that there weren't enough poop jokes.


	4. I Can't Say Goodbye To You

**All recognizable characters and allusions are property of Nickelodeon and the creators of The Legend of Korra.**

**Title: **I Can't Say Goodbye To You

**Genre:** Angst/Missing Moment

**Summary: **Mako finds Korra standing alone outside on the ship. Takes place during and after "Night of a Thousand Stars".

* * *

"It's okay," Mako said, coming up to Korra. "We're going to stop Unalaq and get Jinora back."

Her eyebrows were creased with worry as she glanced back at him and looked back out to the sea. "I hope my dad's alright."

He gently put his hand on her shoulder and she turned and leaned into his chest for comfort. "I'm sure he's fine," Mako said, putting his arms around her.

Korra had been missing since dinner. He knew she was prone to crippling bouts of self-doubt and low spirits, so he managed to slip away undetected to look for her while Tenzin's brother Bumi was telling stories of his adventures in the United Forces. He'd found her standing outside, posture downcast with her back to him.

"I'm scared, Mako," she said, so lowly he almost didn't catch it. "What if I fail?"

He rubbed her back softly, the way that she liked. "You're not going to fail. Everything's going to be just fine."

"I'm so glad you're here," she mumbled against his chest.

Panic flurried in Mako's chest. He knew that not telling her about their breakup was wrong. That what he was doing—acting like it never happened was wrong, too. It wasn't fair to Korra and it wasn't fair to Asami—he didn't even know where he stood with her now. But having Korra in his arms reminded him of why he loved her so much. She was warm, and didn't smell like anything artificial except the soap she used for her hair. He knew her better than a lot of people did—her strength and vulnerability, the light in her eyes when she made a quip she was particularly proud of, how she liked to be hugged tightly and how she felt that the weight of the entire world was on her shoulders.

"You know I wouldn't be anywhere else," he murmured softly. "I'm going to help you in every way that I can. All of us are."

"Thank you," she said earnestly, pulling back to look up at him. Her eyes were shiny with unshed tears.

Mako reached up with one of his hands and ran the back of his index finger softly over her temple. "Come on. You need to rest. We have a long trip ahead of us."

Korra nodded and let herself be lead by Mako back into the ship. Her room was closest to the balcony she had been standing on, so it wasn't a long walk. The ship was in almost complete darkness and completely quiet except for the sound of the waves and the low rumble of the engines down below. They reached Korra's room and Mako opened the door for her.

She looked up at him, her eyes faintly discernable in the low light of a bulb in the middle of the hall, and clutched his arm. "Stay with me?"

_No_, he should have said. _I can't. We broke up, Korra. I sort of started dating Asami again. We're both moving in different directions. _He should have said all of these things, but he didn't. He let himself be led into the room with her and the door shut softly behind him with a click.

Korra put her arms around his neck and kissed him furiously. It caught him by surprise, but he returned her fervor to match, his arms snaking around her waist and pressing her flush to his body. The soft curve of her body was a familiar outline to him and he realized he missed this. Things had ended badly between them, but here, in this dark room, it was as if time had been suspended and nothing out there, nothing what happened between them, mattered but them. Mako's worries were done away with old feelings and intense passion. He knew that Korra was using this as a distraction from her worries. He didn't try to contradict her.

He was awake long after she fell asleep, the smooth expanse of her back exposed and her head turned away from him, hair spilled carelessly over her shoulders. Mako alternated between staring at the ceiling and staring at her naked flesh.

_I'll tell her soon,_ he thought. _She doesn't need our drama hanging over her head. The world needs her._

But he thought about what would happen if he didn't. What if he didn't tell her and acted like nothing happened?

_I still love her_, he realized. _I'm never going to stop loving her._

If—when—he brought it up, she would hate him. He knew she would. He'd hurt her and it hurt him knowing how much it would hurt more when he told her. And as for him—it had been hard enough the first time. Would he be able to deal with ending things all over again?

Mako reached over and played with the ends of her hair. Korra sighed in her sleep.

"I'll always love you, Korra," he whispered. "No matter what."

* * *

**A/N:** This was sitting on my computer for months so I finished it up and decided to post it. I don't like writing angst but it seems to me like it's what I'm good at. _ Oh well! I hope y'all like!


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